Information Metabolism as a Model, Kokoszka

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Intern. J. Neuroscience,

i999, Vol. 97, pp. 1 69 - 178

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INFORMATION METABOLISM AS A MODEL

OF HUMAN EXPERIENCES

A N D R Z E J K O K O S Z K A *

/ / Department of Psychiatry, Medical U niversity of W arsaw, ul. Now owiejska 27,

00-665 Warszawa, Poland

Received in final form 5 January 1999)

This paper presents Kgpiriski's concept of inform ation meta bolism , which attempts to

describe processing of the information as an analogy of energy metabolism. It is a biological

model based upon the structural organization of the cell. The following terms: control center,

boundaries, functional structures, centers of elimination and centers of energy are considered

here.

The model is complementary to computational models, which are helpful in research and

theoretical studies, but not useful in interpersonal contacts. The model of information meta-

bolism aims at explanation of relations between psychological and somatic processes and helps

in understanding of psychotherapeutic processes.

Keywords:

Information processing; information metabo lism; model of experiences; interper-

sonal relationships

This paper presents the model of information processing, created by K^piriski

(1970).In a series of nine books K gpinski applied the concep t of inform ation

metabolism to describe psychopathology. Most of these books were edited

during his incurable disease and p ublished after his dea th in 1973. They at-

tained a status of instant popularity in Poland. Although the political isola-

tion of Poland kept K^piriski's ideas from being presented in English, at a

time when they were being published in Polish. The concept of information

metabolism was later discussed in English by Struzik (1987a, 1987b). It was

also applied in elaboration of a model of states of consciousness (Kokoszka,

1987- 88 , 1993) and a rationale of general theory of relaxation (Kokoszka,

1992, 1994) in papers in English, and in preparation of an integrating model


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170 A KOKOS ZKA

of mental states (Kokoszka, 1997), and of psychotherapeutic relationship

(Ko kosz ka, 1996) in book s in Polish.

This paper aims at a concise presentation of the information metabolism

as a model helpful in the understanding of human experiences. The model

is com plemen tary to the com puta tion al mo dels of information processing

applied in cognitive psychology. These models include neurophysiological

processes such as working memory, production memory and declarative

memory, storage, retrival, execution match, encoding, performances, where-

as information metabolism focuses on mental phenomena.

T H E N O T I O N O F I N F O R M A T I O N M E T A B O L I S M

The model of information metabolism was first presented by Kgpiriski

(1970), who argued that technical models characterize human beings in a

dualistic manner-thus implying that mental processes govern somatic pro-

cesses in a mechanistical way and explain very little about the psychological

aspects of life, e.g., experiences, creativity. He considered biological models

to be closer to the psychological reality than technical ones.

The term energetic-informational m etabo lism was used by K?piriski

(1970; 1979) to denote life; more specifically, two processes without which

life would not be possible. In the initial phases of phylogenetic development,

energy metabolism dominated, but it always coexisted with information

metabolism e.g., processing of information concerning sources of nourish-

ment). As development progressed, information metabolism gained greater

importance and, in extreme situations, all available energy may be utilized

for information processing.

The information metabolism model is based on an analogy of the struc-

tural organization of the cell, and it attempts to describe information pro-

cessing as an analogy energy metabolism. According to K?piriski (1970) the

metabolism of information i.e., processing of information) has:

- its own boun dary analo gou s to the cell me mb rane;

- a control center analog ous to the cellular nucleus;

- a system for information distribution and processing analo gou s to the

endoplasmic retrieulum and lysosome;

- a source of energy analog ous to the mitoc hon dria.

At the basis of the theory lies a need for the input of information which

varies with time, as is acknowledge by other theories of information


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INFORMATION METABOLISM AND HUMAN EXPERIENCES 171

principle, which states that the organism is an open system and its negen-

tropy rises or falls as a result of processes described by the laws of self and

species preservation (Struzik, 1987b, p. 107).

B SIC STRUCTURES ND FUNCT IONS

OF INFORM TION MET BOLISM

Control Center

Information metabolism occurs within a defined space and time. It has

control center (CC),

i.e.

ego or I , and functional structures enabling the

reception, processing and assimilation of information, as well as the normal

regulation of the organisms own activities. Information metabolism is deter-

mined by the phylogenetic and ontogenetic past of an organism, but it is

also involved in pursuing aims which extend into the future. It creates in-

dividually varying pictures

{i.e.

functional structures) of the outside world,

which although objectively uniform are perceived as unique and different by

each individual.

Functional Structures

Th e term func tional str uc tu re is used by Kgpiriski for schem atic repre-

sentation of perception and of activity.

System of Values

Decision making is recognized as one of the basic features of life; it has

different degrees of freedom in different organisms. The hierarchy of values

gove rns the mech anism s which select and filter the informatio n reaching

any particular decision making level. The system of values has three levels

(K?piriski, 1977b).

The first level is biological and it is concerned with all that is described by

the concept of biological programming {i.e. all that man is born with and

can control to some extent). It is determined by two basic biological laws:

self and species preservation. Depending on how well they are established

one can speak of greater or lesser dynamism in the life of an individual.

The second level is emotional and it determines the emotional attitude

{i.e. to w ar ds or aga inst ) . I t is characterized by the formation of com-

plexes, which are emotional centers where an individua l' emotional relations


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172

A

K O KO S Z K A

meet with the environment. These centers are usually formed around an

important person from childhood and influence a persons' emotional rela-

tionships in later life. Complexes can also arise in connection with trau-

matic situations and can shape an individual's attitudes towards similar

situations when they are occurring. Com plexes become fixed by repetition.

The biological and emotional levels are located below the threshold of

consciousness, meaning they are auto ma tic. They shape a real hierarchy of

values , ( I am really like this ) based on fixed and automatized tendencies,

habits and attitudes.

The third level is socio-cultural and it determines how an individual

projects himself into the future, ( I would like to be like this, these are my

goals, this seems most important to me ). This level is conscious and con-

sists of an individual's aspirations, ideals, and cultural models. It refers to

the hierarchy of values in one's own social environment.

The real hierarchy of values is more important in the process of decision

making, but final decision are determined by all levels of the system of

values, including the ideal hierarchy. Therefore, an individual's will can con-

trol his or her behavior to a certain degree.

Maintenance of Order

Order is the essence of the structure. The preservation of structure and order

in the metabolism of energy does not require, at least not any conscious

effort on the part of the organism, for this is taken care of by physiological

mechanisms. Their preservation in information metabolism mechanisms.

Their preservation in information metabolism is connected with a continu-

ous effort focusing on the proper selection of information coming from the

outside and inside of the organism and on the choice of proper forms of

reactions. This integrational effort is largely unconscious (K^piriski, 1979).

They are conscious when they take shape in an act of will.

utonomic Psychological ctivity

An individual has his own mental activities. Da yd ream ing is som ething

which is mo st m ine -on e has an absolute pow er over it, while having no

power over reality . ( . . .) The act of daydreaming (. . .) belongs to the same

sphere of experiences as thinking, planning and dreaming in sleep. The

limiting influence of the structure of the real world is much stronger in the

first two phenomena (thinking and planning) and much weaker in the third


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INFORMA TION METABOLISM AND HUMAN EXPERIENCES 173

ruler over one's world of dreams. In the case of sleep the situation is

reversed . (K?piriski, 1979, pp . 17 8-1 81 ).

The Sense of Reality and the Feedback Between

an Organism and its Environment

One of the rules governing information metabolism says that the world

around us in changeable; yet the organism is stable (K^piriski, 1979). Any

change in the structure of the exchange of signals within the surrounding

environment provokes an orientation reflex, which is accompanied by the

feeling of anxiety. The force of vegetative and emotional reactions to an out-

side stimulus depends on the force and the unusualness of the stimulus and

on the present state of consciousness. The reaction is exceptionally strong

when the signaling system is in a state of low selecting ability

{e.g.

in sleep);

which can be shown as a scale of values changing with the situation, and

causing that one set of signals reach the organism more easily than another.

The degree of total integration of functions of man's nervous system is

prop ortion al to the state of consciousness,

e.g.

awareness to the surrounding

environment. In the state of wakefulness man is in the strong feedback rela-

tionship with his surroundings and the perception threshold for extero-

ceptive stimuli is lower an d for interocep tive stimuli it is higher, wh ereas in

sleep the feedback relationship with the surroundings is diminished.

MOD EL OF INFORM TION MET BOLISM

A metaphor of information metabolism expresses that human experience

and behavior cannot be explained by technical a model of information pro-

cessing. This process in humans in influenced in a significant way by the

subjective meanings of information which were shaped during the life his-

tory of the individual person. The unique set of experiences contained in

the functional structures of the system of values includes, especially on its

emotional level, subjective emotional complexes. In some situations, these

complexes cause human behavior to be directed by subjective feelings, ra-

ther than by objective logic. For this reason, the model of information meta-

bolism in human beings seems to be a more adequate notion than that of

information processing. In essence model of a information metabolism,

applied by K ?pins ki, enables the differentiation of the main elem ents in the

structure of human experiences, which are analogous to the structures and

functions of the biological cell, which listed and presented on the Figure 1

below (Kokoszka, 1996):


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174

A KOKOSZKA

boundaries of personal i ty

LAYERS OF THE SYSTEM OF VALUES

FI G U R E I Graph ical model of information metabo lism described by K^piriski.

1. C entral Point - I , or contro l center (CC on the figure). This structure

corresponds to a universal experience of being the subject of one's own

psychical activity. It controls one's own activity, similarly, to that of the

nucleus, which governs the biological cell activity.

2. Bo und aries (the whole cylinder on the figure) are conside red in the sense

of representing self-identity as means of enabling the discrimination of

one's own limits and the differentiation of one's self from other people

and from the external world.

3. Functional structures shaped earlier in life maintain order in space and

time and the layers of systems of values. Creation of this structure may

be compared to the centers of synthesis of biochemical compound in a

biological cell. The am ou nt, com plexity and plasticity of functional struc-

tures increases along with the development. It is illustrated by the rela-

tively small number of the strong and rigid structures (thick lines) on the

biological level and the increasing number of thinner structures on the

emotional and socio-cultural levels.

4. Energy centers necessary for preservation of metabolism of information,

i e proper stimuli reception, selection and integration; as well as deci-

sion making.

5.

Elimination centers of an where useless and unimportant information is

removed.


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PSVCHODYNAMIC COGNITIVE MODEL

OF INFORMAT ION M ETABOLISM

The psychodynamic approach, based on psychoanalysis, applies in practice

concepts of:self internal object and transference as helpful conce ptualizations

of phenomena and processes taking place in psychotherapy. The self and the

object are mental representations of oneself and of other significant person,

shaped during the life of the individual by one's unique experiences. The

mental records of these experiences and life events may influence the current

perception of other people as well as ofoneself. The analysis of relationship

between self and obje ct , i.e. a subjective pattern of an important person

experiencing, which is shaped mainly in relations with parental figures is the

most important in the individual psychotherapy. The patient's feelings,

thou ghts and behaviors tow ard th erapist which are not reaction to the realistic

interactions with him or her, but manifestations of activated experiences

toward significant persons in past (mainly in childhood) displaced on the

therapist, are considered as transference. The similar processes may take place

in everyday life, but it is difficult to recognize them. The neutrality of a

psychodynamic therapist, whose real feelings, attitudes and opinion are not

known by the patient, helps in recognition of transferential fantasies and

feelings, what usually does not take place in other conditions. However by

those processes which take place simultaneously on many levels of

organization of psychical processes including conscious and unconscious, as

well as verbal and non-verbal communication.

According to the psychodynamic-cognitive model of information meta-

bolism (Fig. 2) self and object may be defined as functional structures con-

stituting respectively, internal, mental representations:

of one's own person,

i.e.

self

of im portant person i.e. object.

For a grater clarity, the fluctuations of the control center according to

sleep-waking rhythm (Kokoszka, 1993) were omitted on the previous model,

but included on this one. However, the fluctuations according to short,

ultradian rhythms are not considered in this paper, and they are illustrated

only by arrows on the horizontal plane (they were discussed in the paper by

Kokoszka, 1993).

The interaction between two persons, including the relationship between

the patient are the therapist are illustrated on the Figure 3.


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176

A. KOKOSZKA

SLEEP

L YERS OF THE SYSTEM OF V LUES

EMOTION L

FIGU RE 2 Psychodynamic-cognitive model of information metabolism.

L YERS OF THE SYSTEM OF V LUES

FIGU RE 3 Information metabolism in interpersonal contacts.

THE STRATEGY OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE

EXPERIENCES OF OTHER PERSON ACCORDING TO

MODEL O F INFORMATION METABOLISM

In practice, in order to understand the other s experiences according to the

information metabolism one should ask oneself questions regarding the

following (Kokoszka, 1996):


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consciousness and within one's own ability to think logically? In my contact

with the other is there any type of interference on the part of my own ability

to control myself?

Bou ndaries - what are the boun daries of the othe r 's self? To what degree

can the other differentiate between the product of ones own mental life {e.g.,

fantasies, beliefs) and the realities of the external environment? How are the

boundaries of my self in the relation with the other? To what extend is the

other able to function in an autonomic way; and to what degree is his or her

internal representation of one's own self separated from the internal repre-

sentation of the object (important person)? Am I not identifying with the

other too much. Am I not isolating myself from the other?

System of Values - W hat are the re al and ide al hierarchy of values

of the other? In what manner is the metabolism of information determined

by the other's own specific meaning of specified stimuli resultant of: firstly,

biological ma ke-u p - on the biological level of the system of values; second-

ly, em otion al complexes on its emo tional level, thirdly, personal social

experiences shaping socio-cultural level of the system of values. Moreover, it

is essential to ask W ha t is relation between the oth er's hierarchy of values

and my own?

Fun ctional Structures - W hat are othe r 's patterns of behav ior? How

does the other experience himself or

herself

how does he or she experience

others? How does these compare to my own patterns of behavior?

Psychical Energy - W hat is the energy potential - ego streng th - of the

other? What types of problems is the other capable of confronting, and

what types of problems are rather difficult for him/her at this time? How

is my own ego streng th at this time? With what types of problems am I

able to work?

Elim ination System - W hat is the ability of he oth er to cope with his

or her problems? Speaking in metaphor, what is his or her ability

to m etab olize his/her own problem s. W hat are my potentials of

metab olizing problem s, which are similar to those of the other?

The issues presented here should be understood conceptually according to

the individual's life history which shapes individuals functional structures

and to the his or her current situation as well as to plan for the future.

References

ki ,

A. (1970) O biologiczny model w mysleniu psychiatrycznym (The biological model in

psychiatric thinking). Psyclualria Polska, 4 , 373 -378 .


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178 A K O K O S Z K A

Kpiriski, A. (1977b)

Psychopalie Psychopathy),

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Warszawa: Panstwowy Zaktad Wydawnictw

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Kokoszka, A. (1987-88) An integrated model of the main states of consciousness. Imagination

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2 8 5 - 2 9 4 .

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International Journal of

Psychosomatics,

3 9 , 4 - 9 .

Kokoszka, A. (1993) Information metabolism as a model of consciousness.

International

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Psychosomatics,

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Antoniego Kfpiriskiego (Understand in order to cure and support. Psychotherapy

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Collegium Medicum Jagiellonian University.

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